Research shows that healthcare is not equal among all demographics and it is evident that throughout time, various groups of people have been taken advantage of by the medical community. In the United States, we believe that health care should not differ by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status or geographic location. When these differences do exist, they are referred to as disparities. We see this when racial and ethnic minorities receive lower quality healthcare than whites, when age is a determinant of quality of care, when level of education or sexual orientation are taken into consideration or when a person is uninsured or must rely on government issued health coverage for care. It is important to understand that differences in people will always exist; it is wrong, however, when these differences lead to unequal care. The existence of inequality in health care represents a failure of the healthcare system to provide equal, high quality care to all individuals. In the past, before the government regulated experimentation on humans and prior to patients’ having to give consent to be involved in studies that could potentially harm them, many doctors and researchers took advantage of these people. The poorest and most illiterate of populations were recruited for experimental medical studies that were invasive, harmful and could result in death. These were the people they believed would not object and would not realize that what was being done to them was wrong. One of the longest running experiments performed on a minority group was the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment spanned 40 years; from 1932-1972 and involved 399 black men in the late stages of syphilis. The effects of advanced syphilis include tumors, heart disease, paralysis, insanity and eventually, death. These men, for the most part illiterate sharecroppers from poor counties in Alabama, were never told what disease they suffered from or the degree of severity of their illness. They were told that they were being treated for “bad blood” when, in actuality there was no intention of treating or curing them at all. The data for the experiment was largely gained from autopsies after the men had succumbed to the disease. In 1997, President Bill Clinton issued an apology to the eight surviving members of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: “The United States government did something that was wrong—deeply, profoundly, morally wrong. It was an outrage to our commitment to integrity and equality for all our citizens. It was clearly racist.” When the experiment was brought to the attention of the media in 1972, news anchor Harry Reasoner described it as an experiment that “used human beings as laboratory animals in a long and inefficient study of how long it takes syphilis to kill someone.” The study meant to show how syphilis affected blacks as opposed to whites, the theory being that whites experienced more neurological complications from syphilis and blacks were more susceptible to cardiovascular damage. How this knowledge could or would have changed the treatment of syphilis is uncertain. Another notable medical controversy was the harvesting of cancer cells in 1951 from a 30-year-old black woman named Henrietta Lacks. Mrs. Lacks died of cervical cancer and her cells were used for experimentation. It was found that her cells would not die, but reproduced themselves at an alarming rate and today, they are still used and sold for research. They were known as HeLa Cells and were sold to doctors, hospitals, laboratories and government agencies. Her family was never notified that her cells had been harvested or were being sold. A book about Mrs. Lacks, her life and her family was published in 2010; The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Mrs. Lacks’ family was portrayed as being concerned about what was being done to their mother’s cells; the male members of her family were incensed to find out that her cells were being sold for $25 per vial, her...

YOU MAY ALSO FIND THESE DOCUMENTS HELPFUL

...﻿Health Care Access and Disparities within the Appalachian Region
Sherri Drake
PIMA Medical Institute
Health Care Access and Disparities within the Appalachian Region
(NIH, 2002-2006) Health disparities are defined as “differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific population groups in the United States”. Healthcare access is the ability of a person to receive health care services as a function of access to medical personnel, supplies and the ability to pay for those services. The Appalachian region consists of thirteen states and 420 counties, in which the entire state of West Virginia is in Appalachia, along with the mountainous portions of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York. According to Borak (2012) the Appalachian region of the U.S. has lower income levels, poor educational achievement, and worse overall health than the U.S population in general. Exploring the mortality, socioeconomic conditions, behavioral risks and medical care resources are serious concerns within the Appalachian region and is the focus of this discussion.
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) was created in the mid 1960’s with the goal of the commission to develop a...

...Disparities in Healthcare Quality
Jacqulin Johnson
Kaplan University
MT305-Health Care Organization and Delivery
Professor Martha Jennings
June 8, 2010
It is prudent to keep in mind that the current system leaves million Americans without health insurance. There are many factors contributing to the poor care quality. Healthcare is too expensive already and barriers just contribute to Americans not getting proper medical care. Americans want the best possible healthcare they can get and they are demanding a basic necessity insurance coverage despite their circumstances. Health care insurance needs to be simplified. Let examine these ten determinants and see if resolving them can simplify healthcare for everyone.
Determinant One: Lack of financial
Low-income households without access to government or private sector charity programs may be particularly impacted by rising health care costs. Almost half of the uninsured low-income chronically ill have reported problems in paying medical bills, which has likely contributed to delaying or foregoing medical care (Effects of Health Care Spending on the U.S. Economy).
The truth is that everyonedoes not make the same amount financially. With that said Americans cannot afford to pay bills, feed...

...Problems of Disparities in Health Care Insurance
The United States leads the world in spending on health care. Yet
, other countries spending substantially less than the United States have healthier
populations. America’s performance is marred by deep inequalities linked to income,
health insurance coverage, race, ethnicity, geography, and – critically – access to care.
Employer-based Insurance plans
Income
The United States is the only wealthy country with no universal health insurance system. Its mix of
employer-based private insurance and public coverage has never reached all Americans.
All working Americans are categorized based on annual income – top-income (earning on average $210,100 annually), higher-middle-income (earning an average of $84,800 annually), lower-middle-income earning on average $41,500), and bottom-income (earning an average of $14,800 annually) (Auguste, Laboissière, & Mendonca, 2009). As the general population knows that those are in the both top-income category and higher-middle-income category can afford any expenses that are incurred in facilities, doctor visits, ER visits, etc. without any hindrance (Auguste et al., 2009). The lower-middle-income and bottom-income population have much harder time in paying for services because it puts them in a tight budget. Paying for out-of-pocket costs can be detrimental to one's credit and often those patients are sent to...

...﻿
Health Care System Comparisons - United States Verses Canada
Beth Glasener Ware
Marylhurst University
April 18, 2014
Author Note
This paper was prepared for HCM 510, Ethical Health Care Management, taught by Professor Browne.
Health Care System Comparisons – U.S. VS. Canada 2
Abstract
This paper defines both The United States HealthCare System and the Canadian Health Care System. It compares the significant differences between the two. It provides in full detail the single-payer system verses the multi-payer system. Medical spending and administrative costs are outlined and compared. Wealth and Health is thoroughly explained regarding the impact it has on health care in the U.S. It also details the impact it would have as a Health Care Manager if the U.S. implemented a single-payer system. The paper is concluded with facts as to why the U.S. government should implement a single-payer system. The research comes from online (Internet) and offline (non-Internet) sources including books, articles, posts, websites and videos.
Keywords: United States Health Care System, Canadian Health Care System, U.S. verses Canadian Health Care Systems
Health Care System Comparisons - United...

...Disparities in Health Care
Thanks to medical advances and advanced preventative care, Americans are living longer and healthier than ever. However, these benefits don't seem to apply to everyone equally because a great disparity exists. Not a disparity based on access or clinical needs, preferences, or appropriateness of intervention, but a racial and ethnic disparity that divides on socioeconomic lines. When all medical care being accessed and administered is considered equal, the poor and racial minorities suffer the most with inadequate insurance coverage, higher incidences of illness, and culturally shaped attitudes that impact and lessen their quality of life. Socioeconomic status is a measure of an individual or family's relative economic and social ranking (Socioeconomic status,” n.d.). Differences in education, income and occupation affect the socioeconomic status of African Americans. When compared, a lower percentage of African Americans had earned at least a high school diploma than non-Hispanic whites. According to the 2007 Census Bureau report, the average African-American family median income was $33,916 in comparison to $54,920 for non-Hispanic white families. In 2007, the U.S. Census bureau reported that 24.5% of African Americans in comparison to 8.2% of non-Hispanic whites were living at the poverty level. In 2007, the unemployment rate...

...Barriers and Disparities in Health Care
NUR/550
June 8, 2012
Cynthia Holsen R.N. – C.W.H.N.P.
Barriers and Disparities in Health CareEveryone should have the opportunity to achieve a healthy life and have comprehensive health care services available to them. To achieve this healthy life, people need to have access to the health care system and to a health care provider with whom they can develop a trusting relationship. However, existing barriers to attaining health care services often lead to disparities which in turn lead to differences in life expectancy, health status and a higher prevalence of certain chronic diseases (HealthyPeople.gov, 2012).
Barriers
Barriers to health care can be defined as conditions that can restrict or prevent the access of necessary health care for vulnerable populations. In their study on public health insurance programs, DeVoe, et al. (2007) report that low-income families identified lack of insurance coverage, poor access to services, and unaffordable costs as the 3 major barriers to accessing health care. Even when families are able to obtain insurance, they still face obstacles such as unaffordable co-pays for office visits, deductibles, and prescriptions. Lack of insurance coverage and inability to pay for out-of-pocket expenses were also cited...

...Disparities in Health Care: Why Ethnic Minorities Struggle Compared to Caucasians
Cameron Schilling
2/30/13
BIO-365
Professor Ensworth
Healthcare is one of the most talked about topics in America. According to PBS, the healthcare industry accounts for eighteen percent of the nation’s gross domestic product(Kane, 2012). The cost of healthcare continues to rise and problems are brought to the surface each year. One growing problem is gap between ethnic minorities and the Caucasian population and the quality of healthcare received. Discrimination is a very large factor of there being a gap between the two groups and this study is important because practitioners need to recognize the problems that it creates. Ethnic minorities are discriminated against for many reasons such as poor socioeconomics status, poor neighborhood environments, and just poor health choices. These can lead to practitioners’ discrimination of ethnic minorities. “Overall, racial/ethnic minorities receive poorer quality health care than do Whites in the United States”(Dovidio, Fiske, 2012). My hypothesis is that ethnic minorities are discriminated in a way that they receive worse healthcare than Caucasians. The design of this study is a sample design and not an experimental design because I pulled information that involved the entire United States....

...physician chose to begin medical procedures.
1. Define “standard of care.” How would appropriate “standard of care” be determined in this case?
In the healthcare industry, standard of care refers to the attention given to a task (with a patient) that would reasonably be expected to be given by anyone in a similar situation. In this case since the patient was unconscious we have to value the words of Dr. William Mayo, founder of the Mayo Clinic upheld that “the best interest of the patient is the only interest to be considered” and that a patient should be “treated as a whole.” I believe that the desicions the physician and staff made was the appropriate one.
2. What is the difference between informed and implied consent? Was the consent in this case implied, informed, or neither? Explain your response.
Informed consent occurs when a provider explains the treatment or procedure and the patient or patient representative agrees. This form of consent can be verbal but is usually written in a signed consent form. And Implied consent occurs when a patient’s behavior suggests compliance
In this case since it was an emergency situation, consent by accident victims is considered implied.
3.Using the internet, research the Patient Care Partnership. Identify and explain three rights that the patient has according to the...

Study Tools

Company

Follow

{"hostname":"studymode.com","essaysImgCdnUrl":"\/\/images-study.netdna-ssl.com\/pi\/","useDefaultThumbs":true,"defaultThumbImgs":["\/\/stm-study.netdna-ssl.com\/stm\/images\/placeholders\/default_paper_1.png","\/\/stm-study.netdna-ssl.com\/stm\/images\/placeholders\/default_paper_2.png","\/\/stm-study.netdna-ssl.com\/stm\/images\/placeholders\/default_paper_3.png","\/\/stm-study.netdna-ssl.com\/stm\/images\/placeholders\/default_paper_4.png","\/\/stm-study.netdna-ssl.com\/stm\/images\/placeholders\/default_paper_5.png"],"thumb_default_size":"160x220","thumb_ac_size":"80x110","isPayOrJoin":false,"essayUpload":false,"site_id":1,"autoComplete":false,"isPremiumCountry":false,"userCountryCode":"NL","logPixelPath":"\/\/www.smhpix.com\/pixel.gif","tracking_url":"\/\/www.smhpix.com\/pixel.gif","cookies":{"unlimitedBanner":"off"},"essay":{"essayId":35734351,"categoryName":"Organizations","categoryParentId":"3","currentPage":1,"format":"text","pageMeta":{"text":{"startPage":1,"endPage":5,"pageRange":"1-5","totalPages":5}},"access":"premium","title":"Disparities in Healthcare: Does Everyone Receive the Same Standard of Care?","additionalIds":[17,13,7,93],"additional":["Literature","Health \u0026 Medicine","Education","Education\/Greek System"],"loadedPages":{"html":[],"text":[1,2,3,4,5]}},"user":null,"canonicalUrl":"http:\/\/www.studymode.com\/essays\/Disparities-In-Healthcare-Does-Everyone-Receive-987284.html","pagesPerLoad":50,"userType":"member_guest","ct":10,"ndocs":"1,500,000","pdocs":"6,000","cc":"10_PERCENT_1MO_AND_6MO","signUpUrl":"https:\/\/www.studymode.com\/signup\/","joinUrl":"https:\/\/www.studymode.com\/join","payPlanUrl":"\/checkout\/pay","upgradeUrl":"\/checkout\/upgrade","freeTrialUrl":"https:\/\/www.studymode.com\/signup\/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.studymode.com%2Fcheckout%2Fpay%2Ffree-trial\u0026bypassPaymentPage=1","showModal":"get-access","showModalUrl":"https:\/\/www.studymode.com\/signup\/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.studymode.com%2Fjoin","joinFreeUrl":"\/essays\/?newuser=1","siteId":1,"facebook":{"clientId":"306058689489023","version":"v2.9","language":"en_US"}}